New round of Nexus phone rumours kicks off

Rumours involving upcoming Nexus devices are nothing uncommon, but this year there is a fair bit of confusion, especially on the phone front.

The Nexus 8 (or 9) now appears to be an HTC-built tablet based on Nvidia silicon. However, there is no talk of a new Nexus 10 and there are a number of conflicting rumours regarding the next Nexus phone. The latest round of Nexus rumours is just as contradictory and confusing.

Hi Ho Silver

Earlier this year it was reported that Google would eventually kill off all Nexus products in favour of new Android Silver devices built by a number of vendors.

However, Silver does not appear to be the end of the line for Nexus. The Nexus 8 is in the works and so is a new phone. The Nexus 10 is a different matter. There is still no word on a possible successor and this could be the end of the line for big Nexus tablets.

The latest rumour involves Motorola and a 5.9-inch device codenamed Shamu. According to Android Police, the phablet should launch in November, targeting US carriers.

There is still no word on the actual spec, aside from the screen size - which is our biggest concern. Why would Google replace the Nexus 5 with a phablet? Nexus phones were never small, but they were still phones - not phablets.

What about a Nexus phablet and a Nexus phone?

One possibility is that Google is planning to introduce more than one Nexus phone. A 5.9-inch phablet would be an interesting proposition for some consumers, but the best selling phones in the market still feature 5-inch screens (or smaller). Google needs a proper phone, or a proper phone backed by a phablet.

LG is not building the new Nexus phone. Motorola is named in one rumours, but the tireless rumour mill has spawned another rumour which does not make much sense. It involves HTC rather than Motorola, but it just doesn't make much sense and it sounds more like a case of wishful thinking than a proper industry rumour. Therefore we are not taking it seriously, although it points to a 5.2-inch device.

Is Google planning to launch two Nexus phones, a Moto phablet and a more compact device manufactured by HTC, or someone else? It is too early to say for sure, but for the time being we are sceptics. Then again, Apple is planning to introduce two iPhones with similar screen sizes...